Ballot Recommendations, City of Los Angeles

On Tuesday, Los Angeles voters will head to the polls, or at least they should, to cast ballot in a number of office holder races and for several ballot propositions.

Voter turnout for the March primary was dismal, an ongoing problem in off year elections when most of the issues are local.

This campaign cycle has been particularly unsavory with millions of dollars of special interest money pouring in for many of the candidates, to the frustration of many voters.

In that light, one of the most important propositions on Tuesday’s ballot is one that lacks enforcement capabilities, but if passed should put our representatives in Washington D.C. on notice.

We urge a Yes vote on Proposition C—A resolution calling on our congressional representatives to support an amendment to the Constitution that would nullify a US Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to have the same political rights and qualities as individuals. Since the Court’s decision, special interest money has flowed unfettered into campaigns at all levels of the political spectrum, from local school board races to the presidential campaign. The amount of money being spent has made it virtually impossible for anyone who is not financially well off or highly connected to money interests to get elected. We think that’s wrong and a far cry from what democracy and representative government are suppose to be about.

To be clear, a yes vote is not a vote that will change the Constitution today, nor will it require that your elected representative cast a vote for any particular amendment wording. The only power behind Proposition C is your vote and hopefully its ability to send a strong message to our elected officials that it’s time to start the dialogue and process for correcting the court’s problematic ruling. Vote Yes on Proposition C

Carmen Trutanich for City Attorney

Mr. Trutanich has been able to reach all communities in the city with his efforts to lower crime and address the concerns of residents regarding issues of safety enforcement. We feel that of the two candidates in the race he has the broadest understanding of the issues that concern people living east of downtown, particularly those in low income communities who do not have access to private attorneys to address their issues.

Mike Feuer has been a competent legislator, however, we feel that the people of Los Angeles will be better served by Mr. Trutanich continuing in the office for another term.

We Recommend Measure D

When Californians first voted on the issue of legalizing marijuana they were told they should vote for it as a way of providing medical relief for people who were suffering; it was the compassionate thing to do.

They were told that there were regulations for the growing and consumption of marijuana that would safeguard the way it was sold.

We later found out that there were in fact not adequate controls for what turned out to be a growing enterprise that quickly took root in neighborhoods with little regard to local safety or zoning issues.

Now we are faced with what to do with the number of businesses selling the drug. Gone for the most part are the exchanges and prescriptions that people thought would be the safeguards in the system. Large numbers of shops are now operating with little license or taxing requirements for its sale and the federal government still considers the sale of marijuana to be illegal.

That has to change. Regulations and order must be put in place.

Of the three marijuana initiatives on the ballot we believe Measure D provides the best regulatory solution. It reaffirms the original safeguards the public believed they had voted on. It limits the number of outlets to the approximately 135 that have operated since 2007 and are registered with the city, pay city taxes, pay for annual background checks. It does not deal with the problematic conflict with federal law, but it is better than allowing the industry to continue to run amok.

Comments

Comments are intended to further discussion on the article topic. EGPNews reserves the right to not publish, edit or remove comments that contain vulgarities, foul language, personal attacks, racists, sexist, homophobic or other offensive terminology or that contain solicitations, spam, or that threaten harm of any sort. EGPNews will not approve comments that call for or applaud the death, injury or illness of any person, regardless of their public status. Questions regarding this policy should be e-mailed to service@egpnews.com.

Name (required)

Email Address (required)

Website

Speak your mind

characters available

We Are the Largest Chain of Hispanic Owned Bilingual Newspapers in the U.S.